Lee County is the southernmost county in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,555. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

s are Fort Madison and Keokuk. Lee County is part of the Fort Madison–Keokuk, IA- IL- MO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Fort Madison dates to the War of 1812. Lee County was the location of the Half-Breed Tract, established by treaty in 1824. Allocations of land were made to American Indian descendants of European fathers and Indian mothers at this tract. Originally the land was to be held in common. Some who had an allocation lived in cities, where they hoped to make better livings. Lee County as a named entity was formed on December 7, 1836, under the jurisdiction of

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

. It would become a part of Iowa Territory when it was formed on July 4, 1838. Large-scale European-American settlement in the area began in 1839, after Congress allowed owners to sell land individually. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) under the direction of Brigham Young fled persecutions in Missouri to settle in Illinois and Iowa. Nauvoo, across the border in Hancock County, Illinois, became the main center of Latter-day Saints settlement, but there was also a Latter Day Saints stake organized in Lee County under the direction of John Smith, the uncle of

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

, land that was sold to them by Isaac Galland in 1839. Lee has two

s — Fort Madison and Keokuk. The latter was established in 1847 when disagreements led to a second court jurisdiction. Lee County's population grew to about 19,000 in 1850, the first US census, to 37,000 per the 3rd census in 1870, peaking at 44,000 people in 1960. It has continuously decreased since and as of 2020, 33,555 people lived there, comparable to the years between 1860 and 1870.

Name

There is no agreement about the derivation of the name "Lee." It has been variously proposed that the county was named for Marsh, Delevan & Lee, of

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

, and the 'New York Land Company', who owned extensive interests in the Half-Breed Tract in the 1830s; Robert E. Lee, who surveyed the Des Moines Rapids; or

Albert Lea Albert Lea may refer to: *Albert Lea, Minnesota, U.S. * Albert Lea Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, U.S. *Albert Miller Lea Albert Miller Lea (July 23, 1808 – January 16, 1891) was an American engineer, soldier, and topographer with th ...

, who helped explore the interior of Iowa.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.0%) is water. The lowest point in the state of Iowa is located on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

in Keokuk in Lee County, where it flows out of Iowa and into

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 61 *

U.S. Highway 136 U.S. Route 136 is an east-west U.S. highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 36. It runs from Edison, Nebraska, at U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 34 to the Interstate 74/Interstate 465 interchange in Speedway, Indiana. This is a distance of . U ...

* U.S. Highway 218 *

Iowa Highway 2 Iowa Highway 2 (Iowa 2) is a state highway which runs across the southernmost tier of counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. At no point along its route is Iowa 2 more than from the Missouri state line, except for a small section near its e ...

* Iowa Highway 16 * Iowa Highway 27

Transit

* Fort Madison station * List of intercity bus stops in Iowa

Adjacent counties

* Henry County (north) * Des Moines County (northeast) *

Henderson County, Illinois Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 United States Census, it has a population of 7,331. Its county seat is Oquawka. Henderson County is part of the Burlington, IA–IL Micropolitan Stat ...

(across the river east) * Hancock County, Illinois (southeast) * Clark County, Missouri (southwest) * Van Buren County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 33,555 in the county, with a population density of . 94.67% of the population reported being of one race. There were 15,858 housing units, of which 14,036 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 35,862 with a population density of . There were 16,205 housing units, of which only 14,610 were occupied.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 38,052 people, 15,161 households, and 10,248 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 16,612 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.24% White, 2.80%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.03% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.21% from two or more races. 2.37% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race. There were 15,161 households, out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.70% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.40% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,193, and the median income for a family was $42,658. Males had a median income of $32,286 versus $21,821 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $18,430. About 7.10% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 12.60% of those under age 18 and 9.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Donnellson * Fort Madison * Franklin *

Houghton Houghton may refer to: Places Australia * Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide * Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland * Houghton Island (Queensland) Canada *Houghton Township, ...

* Keokuk * Montrose *

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

Census-designated places

* Argyle *

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

* Mooar * Sandusky * Wever

Other unincorporated communities

* Charleston * Croton * New Boston * Pilot Grove

Townships

Cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

* Charleston *

* Des Moines * Franklin * Green Bay *

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

* Jefferson * Madison *

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

* Montrose * Pleasant Ridge * Van Buren * Washington *

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Lee County. † ''county seat''

Notable people

* Cleng Peerson (1783–1865), pioneer settler in Lee County in 1840 *

Richard Proenneke Richard Louis Proenneke (; May 4, 1916 – April 20, 2003) was an American self-educated naturalist, conservationist, writer, and wildlife photographer who, from the age of about 51, lived alone for nearly thirty years (1969–1999) in the mount ...

(1916–2003), naturalist, subject of books and documentary *

William Elliott Whitmore William Elliott Whitmore (born May 11, 1978) is an American blues, country, folk singer and musician. He plays roots-folk music that is often inspired by his life on his family farm in the hills of southeastern Iowa. Early life and education W ...

(born 1978), singer and songwriter

Politics

In recent presidential elections, Lee County had a strong Democratic lean, voting for the party's candidate in every election from 1984 to 2012. In 2016 however, the county swung hard to vote for Republican

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

by a wide margin, a swing of over 31 points compared to 2012.

Education

School districts include: * Central Lee Community School District * Fort Madison Community School District * Keokuk Community School District * Mount Pleasant Community School District * Van Buren County Community School District Former school districts: * Harmony Community School District
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References

External links

Lee County government's website
{{authority control 1836 establishments in Wisconsin Territory Fort Madison–Keokuk, IA-IL-MO Micropolitan Statistical Area Iowa counties on the Mississippi River Populated places established in 1836